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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884055">Already Gone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatelFireDemon/pseuds/KatelFireDemon'>KatelFireDemon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bittersweet Ending, Fluff and Angst, Ghost Lance (Voltron), High School AU, M/M, Sad, The Major Character Death happened before the story starts, Unfinished Business</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:13:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25884055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatelFireDemon/pseuds/KatelFireDemon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance dies and for some reason Keith can see his ghost. Keith helps Lance figure out what his unfinished business is so that he can finally move on from this life. But will Keith be able to let Lance go when the time comes?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Lance (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Already Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys, sorry about the angst. I've been in kinda a weird mood lately and this is what came from it. This definitely isn't one of my fluff fics, though there are some fluffy bits in it.</p><p>EDIT: I just added a picture</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Keith pushed his way through the crowed school hallway. Ugh, this was going to be a long day. School hadn’t even started yet and everyone was already making such a ruckus. He forced his way through to his locker and grabbed his English and math binders before shoving them into his backpack and making his way to his first period class.</p><p>He groaned inwardly. What was up with everyone today? Everyone seemed to be talking at once, though weirdly much of it in hushed whispers. The atmosphere felt heavy and stifling.</p><p>Great. First at home, and now at school too. Ever since his dad died a few months ago and the mom he had never met had taken a break from her career abroad to come and step in as his guardian until he graduated that year, there had been an awkward and stifling atmosphere in his house.</p><p>While school had never been his favorite place, at least it wasn’t as bad as being in that house with a total stranger. But right now everyone at school was acting so weird that he couldn’t decide which one was worse.</p><p>He finally made it to his classroom, pushing through a crowd of people standing right inside the door, and made his way to his desk. At least Lance, the resident class clown and loudest person in the school, was just sitting on top of his desk quietly observing the uproar instead of adding to it.</p><p>He pulled out his binder and opened it up to his notes, reviewing the ones from yesterday. This teacher was notorious for giving pop quizzes. He bent over his backpack again to pull out pencil bag. Students started filing into the room and that’s when he heard it.</p><p>“Didn’t you guys hear? Everyone’s talking about it. That idiot ran out into traffic trying to save a cat. Who would be stupid enough to get themselves killed for a dumb animal?”</p><p>Keith’s head shot up at that. Is that why everyone was acting weird today? Had a student died yesterday? How awful.</p><p>“James! You can’t just say that!” Nadia Rizavi elbowed her friend in the side. At least James had the decency to look ashamed afterwards.</p><p>The other students in the room continued with the conversation.</p><p>“Who was it?” Someone asked.</p><p>“Lance McClain.”</p><p>Keith almost gave himself whiplash from turning so fast to look at the boy sitting perched on top of the desk next to him. “But Lance is-” He started, but was cut off by the bell.</p><p>He looked up at Lance, who was very much sitting there next to him. A look of surprise crossed Lance’s face for a moment when they made eye contact, but it was quickly replaced by a small smile as Lance raised a finger to his lips, signaling for Keith to keep quiet.</p><p>What in the world was going on?</p><p>The teacher strode into the room at waited at the front until the class quieted down before speaking. “Now, I’m sure many of you have already heard about this by now, but Lance McClain was in an accident yesterday and passed away in the hospital last night.” There were a couple gasps and some sniffling around the room. “This is a hard time for everyone, so keep his family in your thoughts as they’re going through losing their son. The school counseling office is open at any time to any of you who feel you may need it as I’m sure many of you have just lost a friend as well.”</p><p>Keith looked around the room. What was going on? Could nobody else see that Lance was sitting right there? Keith opened his mouth to say something, but he saw Lance shake his head, and closed it again.</p><p>The teacher continued with the lesson after giving the students a few minutes to collect themselves. As the class period went on Keith found himself paying less and less attention to the lesson and looking more and more at Lance.</p><p>Nobody else seemed to be able to see Lance except for him. But he was definitely right there next to him. Or was he? The longer Keith looked at Lance, the more it seemed like Lance wasn’t quite there. It was like Keith could almost see through him, but not quite. Was Keith just seeing things? But every time he would think that, he would make eye contact with Lance, and seeing those piercing blue eyes seemingly peering right into his soul, he knew that what he was seeing was real.</p><p>He needed to talk to Lance. To figure out what was going on. To learn why he was the only one that could see him. Now, he just had to wait until the end of class.</p><p>~</p><p>As soon as the bell rang he jumped up turning to the desk next to his, but Lance was gone. Had he been imagining it after all?</p><p>But no, during the next few class periods Keith would spot glimpses of him in the halls. By the time lunch came around he was positive he wasn’t imagining Lance. He headed toward the cafeteria and on the way he spotted Hunk and Pidge, Lance’s two best friends, sitting against the wall. Maybe they would know what was going on.</p><p>Their appearances were very haggard, as though they hadn’t gotten much sleep. Pidge’s eyes were red and puffy and Hunk seemed to be on the verge of tears. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. They obviously seemed to be upset, so maybe they didn’t know that Lance was still around.</p><p>Keith had never really talked to them before either, just seen them around. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But before Keith knew what he was doing he found himself standing in front of them. They looked up at him, waiting for him to say something, but Keith’s mind had gone blank, so he just awkwardly stared at them, his mouth half open to say words that weren’t coming out.</p><p>Hunk was the first to shake off the awkward silence. “Oh hey Keith, what’s up?” He asked in a watery voice.</p><p>Keith continued staring for a minute before suddenly blurting out “He’s still here.”</p><p>Hunk and Pidge both stared at him as if he had gone crazy before a small sad smile appeared on Hunk’s face as he said, “Oh… Uh, yeah. Thanks buddy. He’ll always be with us in our hearts.”</p><p>Wait, did they think this was Keith trying to comfort them? Keith was about to say, “No, like, he’s actually still here. I’ve been seeing him all day.” But before he could a voice whispered in his ear.</p><p>“Stop it! Don’t say anything else! Come with me!”</p><p>Keith whipped around and saw Lance’s retreating figure going down the hallway. He ran after him, leaving Hunk and Pidge to wonder at Keith’s weird words of comfort.</p><p>Keith followed Lance into an empty classroom and shut the door behind him. The moment he did Lance erupted on him.</p><p>“What the heck is wrong with you dude?! You can’t just go around telling people you can see me!!!”</p><p>Keith was taken aback at the sudden outburst, so he shouted back, “Well why not?!?! Everyone thinks you’re dead Lance! Why hasn’t anyone else noticed that you’re not?!”</p><p>Lance was quiet and his shoulders slumped. He whispered, “Because I am.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Lance looked right into Keith’s eyes, seemingly staring into his very soul. “I am. I’m dead Keith.”</p><p>Keith’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. “Oh…” Keith wasn’t sure what to say to that.</p><p>Lance sat down on a desk. “That’s why you can’t go around telling everyone you can see me. They’ll all think you’re going crazy.”</p><p>Keith thought about this for a moment, suddenly grateful that Lance had stopped him both times he had been about to tell people. But then something occurred to him. “Well, if you’re dead, then why can I still see you? Why nobody else? Do you know how weird this is for me?” He started raising his voice again. “I feel like I’m going crazy! I’m seeing dead people for crying out loud!”</p><p>Lance yelled back, “Hey! This is weird for me too! Do you think I asked to die?!”</p><p>That shut Keith up. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.</p><p>Lance looked down, brows furrowing. “I don’t know why you can see me. Maybe you can see me so you can help me with my unfinished business.”</p><p>“Unfinished business?” Keith was getting more confused by the second.</p><p>“You know, like in ghost stories where someone dies and they can’t move on because they have one big regret or something like that. That’s why I’m stuck here and haven’t been able to move on.”</p><p>“Well, why me? Why am I the one who has to help you fix your regrets? We barely even said two words to each other in all the time we’ve gone to school together. Why not Hunk? Or Pidge? Or one of your family members?” He hadn’t signed up for this crap. Why was he the one that had to help a ghost?</p><p>“I don’t know. Maybe… there’s some way that I can help you just as much as you’d be helping me.” Lance looked up at him, his eyes seemed to be pleading.</p><p>Keith groaned. “Ugh, fine. I’ll help you. But just because I don’t want to be haunted by your ghost for the rest of my life. So, what’s your unfinished business? Your big regret that I have to fix?”</p><p>Lance looked at the floor again. “I… don’t know that either…”</p><p>“Well you better start brainstorming and have an answer by the end of school, because I don’t want to be stuck with you for the rest of my life.” And with that he stormed out of the room.</p><p>~</p><p>By the end of school Keith had calmed down a little and resigned himself to helping the ghost of a kid he barely knew. As he walkout out of the school towards the parking lot, he found Lance waiting for him outside.</p><p>When Lance spotted him he bounced up. “I think I might know what it is!” He told Keith excitedly.</p><p>Keith raised an eyebrow, looking at him expectantly.</p><p>“I always wanted to try those churro ice cream cones that they sell at the park, but that food truck only came on Thursdays, when I was working after school, so I never got to try one. Maybe that’s it! I regret not being able to try it when I was alive! And tomorrow is Thursday, so we can try it then!” Lance looked so triumphant, like he had just solved all the world’s problems.</p><p>Keith snorted. “Really? That’s it? Trying a churro ice cream cone?”</p><p>Lance’s expression turned pouty. “Hey! It was all I could think of on such short notice!”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Well, at least it’s something. But how do you propose to solve that problem? You’re a ghost remember? And last I heard, ghosts can’t eat.”</p><p>The excitement on Lance’s face dropped, and Keith found himself feeling bad that he was the cause of it. “Oh… I hadn’t thought of that…” Suddenly the excitement came back in full force. “Oh I know! You can eat it and describe it to me! It’ll be just like if I was eating it myself!”</p><p>Keith had his doubts, but figured it was worth a try. “Alright. Meet me there tomorrow after school.”</p><p>~</p><p>The next day school seemed to drag on forever. The excited look on Lance’s face yesterday as he was describing the place where they’d meet up seemed to have been contagious as Keith found himself starting to look forward to going to the park.</p><p>The moment school got out Keith hopped on his motorcycle and headed over to their meeting spot. He found the tree Lance had described fairly quickly, but didn’t see him anywhere, so he decided to sit on the bench under it and wait.</p><p>As he sat down he heard faint laughing. It sounded like it might have been Lance’s. He stood up and looked around, but couldn’t see him. So he sat down, thinking it was probably just a kid on the playground.</p><p>There it was again. It was definitely Lance. But where was he? He was a ghost, so maybe he could turn invisible? He turned this way and that, but there was still no sign of him. He sat down in a huff.</p><p>Then it came again, only this time louder. “I’m up here stupid.”</p><p>Keith tilted his head upwards to peer into the branches above him, and sure enough, there was Lance. Lounging on a tree branch, laughing at him.</p><p>He jumping agilely down. Keith almost gave a shout to be careful or he’d get hurt, before remembering that ghosts probably couldn’t get hurt, so he kept his mouth shut.</p><p>“Come on, let’s go. It looks like a line is already forming, and we want to get one before they run out.” Keith walked in the direction of the food truck.</p><p>The line moved faster than expected, and before Keith knew it they were at the front.</p><p>“What can I get for you?” The guy in the food truck leaned on the window sill.</p><p>“Oh uh… one churro cone please.” Keith said pulling out his wallet.</p><p>“One churro cone coming right up. What flavor ice cream?”</p><p>Keith turned to Lance. “What flavor ice cream?”</p><p>Lance smiled. “Rainbow Sherbet please.”</p><p>“Are you sure? That sounds like kind of a weird flavor to go with a churro.” Keith looked dubious.</p><p>Lance laughed. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”</p><p>“Well, alright. Just remember, I’m the one that has to eat it, so if it’s weird then I blame you.” He turned back to the guy in the food truck. “Rainbow Sherbet.”</p><p>The guy gave him a weird look, but nodded and wrote down the order.</p><p>As Keith walked away with his order he realized why the guy had looked at him like he was crazy. “Lance! Why didn’t you stop me! It must have looked like I was a crazy guy who talks to himself!”</p><p>But Lance couldn’t respond because he was laughing too hard.</p><p>Keith looked mortified. “I can never come here again. They’re always going to remember the weird guy that talks to himself and gets weird food combinations.”</p><p>Lance finally spoke as his laughter died down. “It’s not that weird of a combo. Churros are sweet and so is Rainbow Sherbet. And plus, speaking from having some experience in customer service, I’m sure they’ve encountered way weirder people than someone who just talks to himself.”</p><p>They walked back over to the bench under the tree and sat down to eat. Keith eyed the expectant looking Lance as he took a bite. Huh. Okay. “Not as weird as I thought it would be. But I still stand by my stance that there are better combinations.”</p><p>Lance just laughed and urged him to describe what it tasted like to him. As Keith described it he unconsciously started trying to bring out Lance’s infectious laughter more. And whenever he succeeded, Keith felt a little pang of pain in his heart at the thought that such a great laugh wasn’t among the living anymore.</p><p>Somehow Lance roped Keith into spending the rest of the day walking around the city trying foods he had always wanted to try and foods he had been too afraid to try and having Keith describe them to him.</p><p>As the sun started setting, they walked in companionable silence back to the park where Keith’s motorcycle was parked.</p><p>Finally Lance spoke up. “Well, I don’t think that was it as I’m very much still here. Sorry for making you run around all day and spend so much money.”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “I don’t mind. I… actually kinda had fun today. Plus, I don’t eat out a lot, so it was nice trying food from a bunch of places I’ve never been to. What do you want to try tomorrow?”</p><p>Lance’s face brightened. “You mean you’re still going to help me?”</p><p>“Yeah, why not. It’ll give something to do for a change.”</p><p>Lance talked cheerfully as Keith strapped on his helmet. “Alright! I’ll figure out our next plan and tell you tomorrow after school, ok?”</p><p>Keith nodded and started his motorcycle up. “Need a ride home?”</p><p>A flash of panic danced across Lance’s face before disappearing as fast as it had come. “No, I’m good.” His voice seemed pitched a little higher than usual. “I like to walk. Gotta take the chance to while I can, after all, I won’t get to do much walking around the city when I’m gone.”</p><p>Keith nodded. It made sense, though something still felt off. He decided not to push the matter and waving goodbye he headed home.</p><p>~</p><p>After school the next day Keith found Lance waiting again for him in the same spot outside. “What’s the plan today?”</p><p>“Since it wasn’t not being able to try a food I’d always wanted to try, maybe it’s visiting a place I’ve never been to, or one that I regret not going to once last time!”</p><p>“Okay, well where do we start? That could be a lot of places.” Keith started walking towards the parking lot.</p><p>“There’s this place I liked to go to when I wanted to get away from everything. It was my favorite place, so I think that’s the best place to start. It takes a while to get there, you have to drive on the mountain roads for a while, so we should head out now.”</p><p>Keith strapped his helmet on and climbed onto his motorcycle. “Hop on Lance, and make sure to hold on tight.”</p><p>He waited for him to get on, but Lance just let out a soft laugh. “I’m a ghost, remember? I’m not really here.”</p><p>Keith felt his face heat up. “Oh. Right. Well, hop on anyways, I’ll need you to stay with me to give me directions.” How could he have forgotten for even a moment? Lance was already gone. Just a whisper of what once was. But his presence was just so strong, it was hard to believe he wasn’t actually standing there next to him.</p><p>Lance plopped down on the seat behind Keith, putting his back to Keith and sitting crisscrossed, watching the road whisking away behind them as they sped onward. It was weird having Lance on his bike. Keith knew he was still there from his occasional comments about where to turn, but he couldn’t feel him at all. In the times Lance wasn’t talking, it almost felt like Keith might turn around and he’d be gone.</p><p>After winding their way down countless small mountain roads, they finally made it to their destination. As Keith pulled his helmet off he sucked in a deep breath of surprise at the stunning view before them. They were high up in the mountains, standing on an overlook that showed the whole valley. Keith felt instantly at peace, feeling almost like time had slowed down where they were while it was still speeding along in the city down below.</p><p>They sat in silence for a while, watching the view, until Keith spoke. “How did you even find this place? It’s so far off the main road up the mountain.”</p><p>Lance propped his chin in his hand, sparing a glance at Keith before looking out at the view again. “I found it when I ran away from home.”</p><p>Keith was shocked at his answer. “You ran away from home?” He asked incredulously.</p><p>“Haha yeah, kinda hard to believe right? It was just for a day. It was sophomore year and I was having a hard time finding my place in the world. I’m the youngest kid in my family, and at the time I had been feeling overlooked compared to my siblings’ achievements. Well, that day, my mama and I got in a fight, and I stormed out of the house. I got into my sister’s beat up old car that I had been using and made up my mind to run away and never come back. I started driving up the mountain and was determined to get as lost as possible. I thought they wouldn’t care if I just went missing for a day or two, so I was thinking, if I never came back then they’d feel sorry about everything.” Lance smiled softly at the memory. “Well, I ended up at this place somehow, and slept in the car. But in the morning, I felt bad about getting in a fight with my mama and I was hungry as well, so I decided to just give up and go home. When I got there I found out that my whole family had been up the whole night looking for me. I never ran away again, but I liked to come here to clear my head after that.”</p><p>Lance turned towards Keith. “You know, it’s weird sometimes how easy it is to overlook how other people actually feel about you when you’ve already decided what they must be thinking of you.”</p><p>Keith was silent as Lance continued. “I think that’s probably why we never became friends when I was still alive.”</p><p>At that Keith turned to Lance, “What do you mean?”</p><p>“I mean, I think we already had these preconceived notions of what the other thought of us, and it stopped us from trying to reach out and befriend each other. For example, when we first met in middle school I thought you hated me for a long time.”</p><p>“W-what? You thought I… hated you?”</p><p>“Haha yeah. You always sat there in class and glared at me. You also never acknowledged when I’d say hi to you, so I thought you hated me for some reason.” Lance looked a little embarrassed. “I took it a little too much to heart and started to resent you for it, deciding that you already hated me, so there was no point trying to make friends with you.”</p><p>Keith tried to think back to middle school. He didn’t remember glaring at anyone constantly. Heck, he didn’t even remember Lance being in one of his classes. Suddenly it hit him. He slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face, “Oh my gosh, I remember now!” His face started heating up as he spoke. “The first year of middle school was when I started to realize I was gay. There was a cute boy in my class named Taylor. Or at least, I thought his name was Taylor at the time. I… had a bad habit of staring at him during class and I would panic whenever he talked to me and end up saying nothing. That was you wasn’t it?”</p><p>Lance burst out laughing. “I think so. Some of my friends called me The Tailor because of this video game we played.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows. “So, you thought I was cute?”</p><p>If it was possible Keith’s face turned an even brighter shade of red. “I still do.” He muttered turning away. But before Lance could say anything he continued. “Anyways, I kinda understand what you mean. When I started noticing you again in high school, this time as Lance, I never tried to talk to you because you were always surrounded by so many people and I figured that someone as popular as you wouldn’t even bother looking my way. So I guess I just kind of grouped you in with all the annoying popular kids who never shut up. I mean, you still never shut up, but… you’re not annoying.”</p><p>Lance’s face split into a wide grin at the half compliment. “To bad we didn’t realize we were being dumb earlier. I think we would have made a pretty great team.”</p><p>Keith let a soft smile spread on his face. “Yeah. We would have.”</p><p>They stayed there, watching the city below until the sun started setting.</p><p>“Sorry to keep you out so late, both yesterday and today. I hope your mom isn’t worrying about you not being home yet.” Lance apologized.</p><p>Keith stiffened at the mention of his mom. “It’s fine. She wouldn’t really care if I was gone for the whole night.”</p><p>Lance frowned. “I’m sure that’s not true. I heard in school that she’s only been living with you since your dad passed away, but I’m sure she cares about you a lot.”</p><p>“Well, think again. If she really cared then she wouldn’t have chosen her job over my dad and me. She just came back as an obligation as my closest living relative to take care of me until I graduate.”</p><p>“Maybe if you just-”</p><p>“Maybe if I just what?” Keith snapped. “Maybe if I just talk to her? Maybe if I just try? Other than a card every year on my birthday I had never even heard from the woman until she showed up at the funeral. I don’t know her and she definitely doesn’t know me!”</p><p>Lance stepped back at Keith’s sudden outburst.</p><p>Keith ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just- Things have been awkward at my house since my dad died. Suddenly I’m living with someone I’ve never even met before, and I just- don’t even know how to start trying to talk to her. Sometimes she tries. Tries to talk to me. Ask how my day was or what I did. But I never know what to respond with. I can’t keep the conversation going. So I tend to only go home to sleep. I mean, what do you even say to a complete stranger? She even asked me to come live abroad with her after I graduate. I know she doesn’t mean it though, so I’m not going to.”</p><p>“I don’t think that’s true.” Lance spoke up. “From what it sounds like to me, she’s trying. Look, I see where you’re coming from, but at least she’s here now, and she’s trying… So maybe you should give her a chance.”</p><p>Keith folded his arms. “What would you know about this? You’ve had a happy family life. You’re in no position to tell me how I should react.”</p><p>Lance looked Keith in the eyes. The expression on his face hurt, “I did. I did have a happy family life. And I would give anything to have one more day with them. I’m sure you feel the same about your dad. And maybe… your mom feels like that too. Maybe she regrets missing all those years with you guys, and realizes it now that it’s too late to fix it with your dad, so she’s trying to make that up to you now, in her own way.”</p><p>Keith opened his mouth to speak but Lance held up a hand to stop. “I’m not saying that you have any obligation to forgive her, or to forget the hurt you’ve felt because of her, or even to try to fix things. You don’t owe her anything. But you do owe yourself something. You owe it to yourself to find a way to heal from that hurt. And if I had someone who was waiting with open arms, ready to put the work in to be with you, I’d think twice before shoving them away.” He walked to the motorcycle. “But what do I know. I’m just a ghost. C’mon, it’s time to go. This wasn’t it either.”</p><p>Keith nodded and hopped on. They were silent all the way to Keith’s house, where Lance got off and started walking away down the street, putting his hand up in a goodbye. Keith watched his retreating figure until he was out of sight, lost in thought about their conversation.</p><p>Maybe Lance was right. Maybe it was time for him to try.</p><p>~</p><p>The next morning Keith was startled awake by Lance’s face hovering over him.</p><p>“AAH! Lance! How did you get in my room?!?!”</p><p>Lance stuck his hand in the wall. “I’m a ghost, duh.”</p><p>“Oh. Right.” Keith sat up and rubbed his blurry eyes. “What are you doing here anyways?”</p><p>Lance plopped down on the end of his bed. “It’s Saturday, and I have an idea of what my big regret might be!”</p><p>Keith rolled out of bed and walked to his closet to find some clothes, knowing Lance would continue.</p><p>“The fair!”</p><p>“The fair?” Keith raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“It’s coming to town next weekend and I was really looking forward to it! I bet I regret dying before getting to go! Can we go, can we go?”</p><p>“Fine.” He threw a shirt at Lance, which just passed harmlessly through him. “But first you have to get out of my room so I can change.”</p><p>Lance snickered and left, passing right through Keith’s door. “I’ll be waiting in the kitchen. Nice bedhead by the way.”</p><p>Keith reached up to touch his hair and glared at the door where Lance had just been. He threw on a shirt and one of his many pairs of black jeans before heading to the bathroom to do something about his hair, knowing Lance would keep making fun of it if he didn’t get it under control.</p><p>Once he headed downstairs into the kitchen he found Lance sitting at the table and his mom at the stove making breakfast. He was surprised. Normally she would already be shut up in her office tapping away at her computer. She may have taken a few months break from the traveling part of her work, but it seemed she still had a lot to do. She worked with Marmora, a company that dealt with international trading and stuff like that. From what Keith could tell, she seemed to be pretty high up in the company.</p><p>“Morning sleepyhead.” Lance grinned.</p><p>Keith grunted in response. He wasn’t about to talk to Lance and have his mom start thinking he was crazy.</p><p>Krolia took that as a good morning. Without glancing behind her she asked. “One egg or two?”</p><p>“Two.” Keith responded, opening the fridge and grabbing the juice carton out of it.</p><p>There was an awkward silence filled with sizzling from the stove and some clinking as Keith got out plates and utensils, before Krolia spoke. “So, you were out again pretty late last night. What were you up to?”</p><p>“Nothing really.” Keith replied, before seeing a pointed look from Lance. He sighed. “Actually, I was just hanging out with a friend. We went on a drive up the mountain.”</p><p>“Well that sounds like fun. So like… just a friend or…?”</p><p>Lance let out a giggle and Keith glared at him. “Just a friend.”</p><p>The room fell back into that awkward silence until Krolia tried again. “So Keith, I noticed that you have a lot of decorative swords in your room.”</p><p>Keith wasn’t sure where she was going with this. “Uh yeah. What about it?”</p><p>“Well, I was thinking that if you’re into that kind of stuff then maybe I could give you some fencing lessons. That is, if you’re not too busy. I know you tend to be out and about all day, so it’s just, you know, if you’re interested.”</p><p>Keith was surprised. He hadn’t been expecting that. He looked over to Lance who was nodding enthusiastically with both thumbs up. “Sure. I’d… like that.”</p><p>Krolia lit up and a small smile made its way onto her face. “Then we’ll start Monday after school. I have to find where your father put my old fencing gear.”</p><p>After that they sat and ate breakfast in silence, but the awkward atmosphere had dispelled somewhat.</p><p>Once they finished eating, Keith headed out the door, Lance following after him.</p><p>“So, the fair. That’s not for another week. What do you propose we do until then?”</p><p>Lance looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking, “Well, while we wait for that to come around, we can still try other stuff to see if it might be anything else, and if none of that works, then we’ll go to the fair!”</p><p>Keith found himself smiling. Spending a week going around to various places with Lance was starting to sound fun. “Where to first?”</p><p>“The beach! It’s only an hour away and I love the beach! It would be nice to see it one last time.”</p><p>“Alright. Let’s go.”</p><p>~</p><p>They spent the next week going to various places that Lance liked and wanted to visit. Keith was enjoying getting dragged around by the bubbly Lance, but there was one thing nagging in the back of his mind. He dreaded bringing it up to Lance, but knew that he had to.</p><p>On Monday after Keith’s first fencing lesson with his mom, he and Lance were chilling in his room, binging a show that Lance hadn’t gotten to finish when he was alive. As the theme song played Keith steeled himself, and brought it up.</p><p>“Hey Lance?”</p><p>“Mmh?” Lance responded, not looking away from the screen.</p><p>“They’re… holding your funeral services tomorrow… Did you want to go?”</p><p>Lance stiffened before releasing a shaky breath and brushing it off. “Haha no, how weird would that be? Going to your own funeral? Nah, I don’t want to see my own body. Like, I know I’m a ghost, but that’s just too freaky.”</p><p>Keith nodded. He had expected as much. Though for some reason it felt like Lance wasn’t saying all his reasons for not going.</p><p>“Were you wanting to go Keith?”</p><p>“No. Kinda like you said. It would be weird seeing your body just lying there, especially when you’ve been with me this whole time.”</p><p>After that the conversation was dropped, but the tension didn’t seem to leave Lance for a while after.</p><p>~</p><p>None of the places they went to or the things they did caused Lance to disappear, and before they knew it the day of the fair was upon them.</p><p>Lance skipped ahead of Keith as they walked into the fairgrounds. Then he practically bounced around Keith as he bought the tickets that would pay for games, rides, and food. Obviously, Lance was excited.</p><p>“Where to first?” There were so many people milling about and making noise that Keith didn’t worry about talking to someone that nobody else could see.</p><p>“Ooh! I’ve always wanted to try carnival games and win a prize!”</p><p>So they headed to the line of stalls that the games were set up in. They ended up wasting a lot of tickets and getting nothing to show for it. Keith was practically fuming.</p><p>Lance would have patted his shoulder to comfort him if he could. “Hey, it’s ok. All these games are super rigged anyways. Let’s just go on the Ferris wheel- OH MY GOSH IS THAT A BLUE LION STUFFIE?!?!?! It’s so cute!!!”</p><p>Keith looked to where Lance was pointing. It was one of the few game stands they hadn’t played yet, one where you throw a ball to knock down the cans. There, hanging from the prize rack, was a blue lion stuffed animal.</p><p>If Lance wanted it, then Lance was gonna get it.</p><p>Keith strode over to the stall and slammed down his tickets, picking up the balls waiting to be thrown. His first throw missed, but his second hit it square on. Only one can fell over. Keith looked like his head would spontaneously combust into flames. Lance wasn’t sure whether to try to calm him down or cheer him on.</p><p>Keith wound up the last ball and put all of the force he could muster into that single throw. He threw it so hard he felt like he might have pulled a muscle in his arm. But the ball hit its mark and the cans went flying. The person in charge of the stand looked shocked and dazedly handed over the blue lion to Keith.</p><p>Keith turned back to Lance, holding the blue lion out triumphantly.</p><p>Lance had a huge grin on his face and there was a look in his eyes that Keith didn’t quite understand. “How about you hold onto it for me. Now, let’s go ride that Ferris wheel.” Lance said.</p><p>Keith nodded, tucking the lion under one arm and falling into step with Lance. Lance chattered happily the whole way and as they waited in line. Soon it was their turn to get into a cart. “I always wanted to go on one of these things, but my siblings always wanted to do other stuff first, so by the time we’d get to it, the Ferris wheel would be closed. I hope we get stopped at the top!”</p><p>After getting stopped in a few different places and going around one full turn, they actually did get stopped at the top. Lance looked around excitedly, moving back and forth to see it from every vantage point. If he had actually had some weight then Keith was sure their cart would have been rocking back and forth.</p><p>Keith watched Lance’s bright face, which shone like the stars. He wished Lance could always have that expression on his face. Without realizing what he was doing, he reached down for Lance’s hand, only for it to grasp onto nothing.</p><p>Lance looked up, startled, before a sad smile came to his face. He brought his had up to brush against Keith’s cheek. He felt nothing.</p><p>“I’m a ghost, remember?”</p><p>Keith could feel his heart tearing in his chest.</p><p>“I wish… I didn’t have to help you solve your unfinished business. I wish you could just stay here. I wish I had tried to talk to you when you were still here.” Keith blinked rapidly to keep away the tears he could feel forming.</p><p>“Me too.” Lance whispered.</p><p>Lance spoke when they got off the Ferris wheel. “I think it’s time to go home.”</p><p>They made their way through the crowds. They were almost to the exit when Keith almost walked right through Lance.</p><p>“Woah, why’d you… stop…?” As Keith walked around, to stand beside him, he saw why Lance had stopped.</p><p>There they were. Lance’s family. Wandering through the stalls near the front. They all looked like they were exhausted. Even the two kids, who Keith figured were Lance’s niece and nephew, weren’t bouncing around like kids normally do when at a fair. They all looked like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.</p><p>“Mama…” Keith heard Lance whisper in a broken voice.</p><p>He couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t bear to see that expression on Lance’s face. Obviously Lance couldn’t handle this right now.</p><p>Keith stepped in front of him, blocking his view. “It’s time to go Lance.”</p><p>Lance nodded silently and drifted along after him. Once they were far enough down the road that the sounds of the fair had faded into the distance Keith asked, “You okay?”</p><p>It took Lance a moment to answer. “I just- I haven’t seen them since right before the accident happened… I… didn’t have the courage… didn’t want to see the pain on their faces… the pain that I caused them…”</p><p>In that moment Keith wanted nothing more than to wrap Lance in his arms and let him cry, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure if ghosts could cry. So he did nothing.</p><p>“I was actually glad to see them. At the fair, I mean. I don’t want them missing out on the joys of life just because I can’t join them. It looks like they know I want that. Seeing them there… they’re going to be okay. Maybe not right now. Maybe not for a long time. But someday.” Lance’s voice broke again. “I just wish I had gotten to say goodbye to them.”</p><p>As Lance said those last words something occurred to Keith. But… that would mean Lance would be gone. Forever. Keith wanted to selfishly keep it to himself. Keep Lance here, with him. But when he saw the expression on Lance’s face, he knew he had to tell him.</p><p>“Lance, I think that’s it.”</p><p>Lance’s heartbroken expression morphed into one of confusion. “What’s it?”</p><p>“The reason you can’t move on.”</p><p>Realization dawned in Lance’s eyes. “Oh… Oh! You think-”</p><p>“Well, obviously not being able to go to the fair wasn’t what you regretted, considering the fact that you’re still here. Lance, I think your big regret is not being able to tell your family goodbye. What if… you have me write letters to them that you dictate, and I’ll deliver them?”</p><p>“I… I think you’re probably right Keith…” Lance took a deep breath and looked into Keith’s eyes. “Let’s do it.” Then his shoulders slumped again. “But… I think it’s time for us to call it a day… I’m not sure I can handle writing them right now.”</p><p>They walked the rest of the way to Keith’s house in silence.</p><p>~</p><p>They spent the weekend writing the letters. It was hard. Harder than Keith thought it would be. Lance put all of his emotions into each letter and it had Keith getting choked up half the time.</p><p>“Finished.” Lance said as Keith sealed the last envelope. Keith felt emotionally drained and ready to just sleep forever. But it was time to drop them off.</p><p>First they went to Hunk’s house. Keith waited for Lance as he went inside to see Hunk one last time before coming out and nodding for Keith to put it in the mailbox.</p><p>“Goodbye buddy. You’re gonna be okay.” Lance whispered as he came out.</p><p>The moment Keith placed the letter in the mailbox, Lance became a little more transparent. Their eyes met. This was it. This was really going to let Lance move on.</p><p>Keith tried to shove that thought out of his head as they traveled to Pidge’s house, then Lance’s house. Lance spent a long time inside. Keith remembered that Lance said at the fair that that was the first time he had seen them since he died. So that’s why Lance had acted so weird when Keith had offered him a ride home. He hadn’t been staying at his home. He had probably just been wandering the city at night. Keith thought of how lonely that must have been and his heart ached. Bright, bubbly Lance, wandering alone at night. Nobody to talk to, to pass the time. Nobody to even see him.</p><p>Keith found himself tearing up as Lance came out of the house. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but he had to, so the moment Lance nodded, he shoved the letters into the mailbox.</p><p>Keith furiously blinked the tears away as Lance started fading. He slowly became more and more transparent until Keith almost couldn’t see him. He waited for Lance to disappear fully, but he didn’t.</p><p>He was still there.</p><p>“Wha-”</p><p>“I’m sorry Keith. I lied. I wasn’t finished. There’s still one more letter to write. But… can we go to that place to write it?”</p><p>So they went back to Keith’s place to grab one more paper and envelope, before heading up the mountain to the overlook. When they got there the sun was already starting to set.</p><p>“Alright. Here we go.” Lance spoke, and Keith pulled out his pen to start writing. He had an idea of who this last letter might be for. “Thank you for everything. I didn’t mean to get you sucked up into this mess, but I’m glad that out of anyone it could have been, that it was you. I wish I had tried to make an effort to talk to you when I was still here, though maybe that would have just made this even harder. You’ve given me so much joy this past week and a half and I’ll forever be grateful to you for it. I’m glad that we could spend this time together. I loved hearing you laugh and seeing that smile of yours that doesn’t come out easily. Maybe if things had been different I could have confessed to you properly and taken you out on a real date. Please remember me, but don’t forget to keep living.” The tears were streaming down Keith’s cheeks freely at this point.</p><p>“I love you Keith.”</p><p>Keith stopped writing. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t write those last words. “I can’t do it. I can’t let you go Lance. Not when I’ve just found you.”</p><p>Lance knelt down in front of him. “You have to Keith. I was never really here in the first place. Just a shadow of me.”</p><p>“Why?!” Keith sobbed. “Why couldn’t we have talked sooner? Why did I have to fall in love with you when you’re already gone?!”</p><p>Lance placed his transparent hands on Keith’s shaking ones and pressed his forehead to Keith’s. Keith couldn’t feel them and just cried harder.</p><p>“It’s time Keith. You can’t move forward if you’re still clinging to someone in the past. That’s no way to live. I’ll always be here. I may be dead, but you’re still alive, so you have promise to keep living.”</p><p>At that moment Keith titled his head up and kissed Lance.</p><p>It was like a whisper against his lips and his heart ripped in two all over again.</p><p>“Goodbye Keith.” Lance whispered and Keith shakily wrote the last line.</p><p>“Goodbye Lance.”</p><p>~</p><p>“Hurry up Keith, we don’t want to miss meeting up with our tour group.”</p><p>Keith glanced back one more time at the blue lion with a letter propped against it, sitting on the nightstand of the hotel room he and his mom were staying in at the current place they were at for his mom’s work.</p><p>“Coming Krolia!”</p><p>He would keep his promise to Lance.</p><p>He would keep living.</p><p>And he would live that life to the fullest.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry about the ending. I really do believe that every story deserves a happy ending, but I just couldn't write one for this one. So here's a bittersweet ending instead.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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